By Myrna M. Velasco
Prices at the pumps had been down slightly this week – at the scale of ₱0.25 per liter for diesel; and ₱0.10 per liter for both gasoline and kerosene products.
(MARK BALMORES / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Among the major oil companies, it had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation that started this fresh round of rollback effective on Tuesday (November 5) at 6 a.m.; and it was followed by Phoenix Petroleum, PetroGazz, Seaoil and PTT Philippines with parallel cost reductions and the same implementation timeframe. The rest of industry competitors are expected to follow.
With more steady swing in global prices, Filipino consumers are also getting a break on their pockets – which proves very helpful given the string of spending that they need to look forward to for the Christmas season.
Even the foreign exchange rate, which is another factor that could exert pressure on oil prices, had been turning favorable the past weeks – with the Philippine peso gaining value against the US dollar.